When selling your home, curb appeal is very important. First impressions count, and potential buyers are likely to make a judgment on your home before they walk through your gate. In fact, some will look at the external appearance of your home, and either walk away or decide to reduce their intended offer if they don’t like the way your house looks. Here are three things you can do to improve the curb appeal of your home.

1. Tidy Up!

Remove clutter. There are many different types of clutter that can detract from the external appearance of your home. You must do more than just pick up all the loose toys, flowerpots and other bits and pieces. Hide your garden hose and tools in a shed, or take them indoors and store them in a cupboard. If you don’t have a shed in your backyard it might be worth buying one. It makes your home more buyable to many people, and can be used for all the bits and pieces that can make your front yard or garden look untidy.

Clutter also includes excessive vegetation: tidy up your hedge, remove all the weeds, and trim back your shrubs and trees to make them look tidier. Your garden should be neat and uncluttered, but fresh and alive which is one reason why many find the spring the best time to sell. It takes more work to make a garden look attractive in winter.

2. Clean Up!

Clean everything: give the woodwork a wash over and clean out your gutters. Many gutters are filled with leaves and even grass that is visible from the street. Make sure they are cleaned out and any damage has been repaired. Buy or hire a power washer and clean your paths, patio, woodwork and fencing: you might be surprised at the way they change shade.

Clean away all the algae and moss on your drive. Most people are unaware of how dirty the exterior of their home has become until they start to clean it. Clean your windows – bright, sparkling windows add to curb appeal, and make sure you clean them both inside and out.

3. Paint and Renew!

Repaint your windows, fences and gates. Remove any rust on hinges and metal surfaces, and give them a fresh coat of paint. Check out your mailbox – if it looks a bit aged then buy a new one – a new mailbox can make a significant difference to the curb appeal of your home.

Repaint your door and get new door furniture: new doorknobs, bell rings and so on. A new front gate looks better than an old one repainted. New garage doors also make a difference to the external attraction of your home. Consider the cost as an investment, because you should more than recover your expenditure in the higher offers your work should attract.

Once you have finished, stand back and take a good look at your home from the curb. Cross the road at look at it from there, and then from your front gate or drive. Check it out from the top of the roof to the gate and take a note of anything you think could be improved. As stated at the beginning, if they don’t like the look of your home, many buyers will either walk away or will reduce their offer to compensate for any work they feel necessary.